>> coming how many - an 85-year-old american detained in north korea is now free. >> global mourning - cards and flowers overflying in johannesburg. >> help wanted - a december surprise on the jobs front. more companies are hiring and the economy shows signs of a rebound. >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, live in new york city. >> an american war veteran

detained in north korea is on his way back to the united states. merrill newman departed beijing airport about 15 minutes ago, headed for his home in san francisco. he'd been held in north korea since late october. officials said they released newman on humanitarian grounds and for apologising for crimes committed during the korean war. he spoke to reporters before leaving beijing. >> i'm glad to be coming home. >> melissa chan has more. >> great news that merrill newman has been freed. you can well imagine how distraught his family has been. he's missed thanksgiving, but will be home in time for the holidays. we hear that merrill newman was part of a special unit called

the white tigers. military intelligence stole secrets - we didn't know about the group until the 1990s. so from the north korean perspective they consider merrill newman, even though he's advanced in age, a serious enemy. from the north korean perspective and because of their propaganda they believe they are in imminent danger from an attack by the united states, they never sooned a peace treaty with america and believe in the threat from united states. >> in terms of kenneth bay, he was not a soldier. he spread the word of christianity. what we are learning is the north koreans consider that a bigger threat. he spread the word of christianity where the political religion is jujay. the question is when or if kenneth bay will ever be

released. >> joe biden welcomed the decision and called for the release of kenneth bay. >> now to the passing of nelson mandela. you are seeing live pictures where people from all over the world are gathering in johannesburg celebrating his life with dance, prayer and a photograph. it was a unique gift to bring people together even in death. >> nelson mandela dreamt of a rainbow nation. south africa is not present. this couple remembered the man called tata. >> to see this many people across - across borders and across races singing together and honouring an amazing man. >> we are here because of nelson mandela. we live the same life as other

people. he was the greatest father in the world. >> during apartheid black south africans couldn't even walk the streets. now they come here to sing. old protest songs. [ singing ] >> they danced to songs about nelson mandela's life. he empowered them and the country to emerge from their laws. >> what have you taken from his leadership? >> unity. that's the most important thing. >> peace, reconciliation, that was the message, a message we have to teach our children and our children's children. >> this was not about sadness or mourning, it was about honour, remembering his generosity and spirit. >> this is a gift.

>> your struggle. your commitment, and your discipline has released me to stand before you today. >> he's an example to all of us >> to black and white south africans. >> we are the same. the only thing that separates us is a pigment in our skin. it means nothing. we are all the same, and are driven by the same things in the same way. >> so maybe, just maybe that long walk to freedom is a little shorter thanks to tata. >> nelson mandela's legacy can be heard in the children's voices of soweto, to the smiles the elderly who never thought they'd live to see the day that equality became law. he touched many lives, some more

personal or lasting than any of us could have expected. i had the honour of meeting nelson mandela before his passing and meeting his grandson. this is my nelson mandela moment. >> there he is, smiling, peaceful, regal. that is nelson mandela sitting in a chair of his office, holding the phone as reverend jackson asks him to give a quick hello to his wife. see the young lady in the black dress. that's me a freshly minted college grad meeting a man i had only read about in history books. i never imagined i would be sitting there when a year before i was a college student choosing where to go. i chose south africa. a country that virtually threw him away. i taught in a poor township, kids born the year nelson

mandela was freed. they were, as we say, the first generation of born frees. their dreams were almost as big as their smiles. do you see that there'll be hope for things to change. >> there could be hope and we could make a difference. >> after i started working with them i was invited to meet president nelson mandela and president jacob zuma while reference rend jessie jackson was in down. i never forget nelson mandela greeting me in that voice, "how nice to meet you, young lady." highs mind was sharp and he had a charisma. i met his grandson, who later told me about the important example his grandfather set for him. >> he came out of gaol and said, "i don't want to take revenge, i want to create peace and mover forward. for me i'm continuing what has been started by our grandfather,

involved in the liberation movement across africa. >> i'll never forget what dooeb said in the end, "when we feel like we are running out of time that's when it's important to take our time. and i will remember his legacy. >> i was not the only one with a special memory. president obama met nelson mandela in 2005 and will travel to south africa to attend memorial services. he'll be joined by former presidents bill clinton and george bush. >> 2013 is poised to be the best year for hire since 2005, before the recession. year low and is at 7%.l to a of the u.s. economy gained more jobs than it expected, adding 203,000 positions just last month. the gains were low spread in low and high-earning positions. mike viqueira has more from the

white house. >> new unemployment figures are good news for the white house, they've been waiting for this for some time, and whether it matters economically or to many people, millions out of work and those what have given up looking for work. it's good news for the barack obama administration. with unemployment insurance to expire for 1.3 million if condepress doesn't act by the end. month, the white house is stuck in an ironic situation. they are arguing for an end to the cut if growth improves, gdp, in the last court, and down to 7% on friday, the lowest in five years. the administration says unemployment insurance has to be extended. white house spokesman jay carney made the case on friday afternoon. >> the news we have today reinforces that we need to address the problem and extend the unemployment insurance

benefits to those individuals. this is a persistent problem. it would be terrible to tell more than a million families across the country, a few days after christmas, that they are out of benefit, that we hope that congress will, as it has in the past, address the challenge. >> one of the more interesting things about the economic numbers, the good economic numbers is they haven't improved - the unemployment rate went down despite the gridlock in washington and the political hold the economy back. you have to wonder how good the growth would be without the head wind or the shutdown that threatened the economy over the course of the month. good news for the white house and the economy. we'll see if it sustains into the fourth quarter and next month, and whether the deadline in washington. january the 15th, coming to an

agreement. >> despite the economic news, 11 million americans are unemployed. since the recession, women have fared better than men in finding jobs. that's as more and more women are choosing to stay single and financially independent. >> marion luggett got married at 16, left her husband at 19. wanda was married at 17 and divorced later. >> i'm not going to depend on a >> i don't think i would have stepped out boldly or been successful if i had still been married. it's stad -- sad but true.

>> these are two reflections of the marriage rate. half a century ago 61% of the population was married. now it's down to 35%. divorce is more common over the same period. from nine divorced women the rate climbs to 21 per thousand. marion and wanda represent the economic disparities. >> they haven't been used in 30-40 years. now they are going be developed into affordable housing. >> wanda runs is a one-person business in construction and housing development, marion has gone back to work after kicking a drug habit. she drops by the charity bread for the city to pick up food. >> it was hard, for a person that was not an addict being employed, living a rough life, my whole life. >> marion is among the four in

10 whose income's fall below the standard. 8 and 10 mothers rate as economically insecure. for women like wanda, that is not a concern. >> i would have loved to have done this while i was married and had a sense of security. i don't feel insecure in what i am doing. >> neither sees a new man in the future. i'm not focused on it now. i'm focused on recovery. i found peace in ways of prayer or meditation. >> we are looking at a cold air mass across the central plains pushing to the south and the east, causing a lot of problems on the highway. we saw a lot of ice. the ice is melting over the next

few days. i'll go there in a few moments, and we'll go to the north-west coming in off the pacific. you can see washed in oregon california will see the snow. highway 1 will have a dangerous situation. nevada and idaho to the south-eastern parts of oregon, that's where the majority of snow will be. in seattle look at the mourning temperatures. we'll stay into the 20s, 18 degrees on sunday. not breaking out of the i 20s or 30s until we get to the end of the week. here in california, notice the snow coming towards the valley. well, north of los angeles, you will be seeing snow in the higher elevations there.

the skiers could be opening up. temperatures for los angeles look like this. 58 degrees with rain. lookout shelter elevations there. monday 60 degrees. overnight lows of 39. this is where the problems were in texas. overnight lows will be below freezing. >> coming up - an update about the stolen radioactive containers in mexico. >> as leaders from 48 afghan r can countries meantime, the death toll climbs.

>> now to a tragedy unfolding in africa, out of the central african republic. 300 are dead after fighting broke out in the capital. nazanine moshiri is there on the front lines. a warning - the images you are

about to see are graphic and could be disturbing. >> an attack at the heart of this rebel government. gunfire echos through the city. some say this was an attempted could de tar. the people responsible, a group known as anti-balaka. they are christian and loyal to former president francois bozize. the target the mainly muslim security forces called seleka. the streets of this once bustling city are almost des-certed. those who venture out risk ending up like this. this woman lost her son. she didn't want to give her name >> translation: i don't know what is happening in the central african republic. if you go in you see people on the ground like animals that

have been slaughtered. with the state of country, where can i go. >> this is where some of the injured have been brought. women are being treated alongside government soldiers. >> this woman asks god, "why has this happened?" christian and muslim victims of this conflict. muslims and christians used to live in this country peacefully. the hatred and violence that has taken over here will be difficult for people to forget. the french are warning there could be genocide. france will send in solediers to back up an african force. it is the rebel government insisting it is in control. >> the enemy attacked it.

we routed them. we completely destroyed them. >> these fighters are out for reven j. they'll be searching for the anti-balaka militia who pose a threat. this is an endless cycle, fighting and killing, destroying this country. >> thousands gathered at the airport seeking refuge from the violence. in mexico startling developments about the stolen containers of radioactive material. thieves hijacked a cargo truck carrying cobalt 60. it was recovered in a field. six suspects have been arrested. all but one tested negative to radio active poisoning. the men have been released but are still in police custodiy. . almost a month after typhoon

haiyan struck the philippines, the recovery effort is slow. a fully rebuilt country is months, if ot years away. there's an effort to get major economies moving. we go at taclobam. >> there's little left here. given his boat is a couple of kilometres inland. how much were you earning before the typhoon, and how much now? >> >> translation: before i was earning about 300 a day from the catch. now i earn nothing. what i catch is what we eat. because i don't have a boat. >> and the truth is the story is replicated thousands of times. the change, after the emergency aid phase, has been to get people working and make the local economy tick over again.

the streets in taclobam is a mess. this is why we have 20,000 lining up for the work for cash scheme. it means they get a job, money in their pockets and play a role in the rescue of their own city. >> we get 500 paceos. we pay them even if they are cleaning their house. if everyone of them is cleaning taclobam, we can revive it. with the money they buy things. if you go to the markets there are a lot of things for sale. immediately they economy has been revived. >> in fact, pretty much everywhere you go in taclobam

you find good-luck stories. even if it's a restaurant. a place people can bather gather. ism i have regular supplies for meat and vegetables. i thought maybe we could offer one or two of our regular menu. >> it's the small things making a difference in a disaster zone and the can-do attitude. the only thing which could triumph over adversity such as this. >> the united nations is asking for $348 million in aid for the philippines. only about half of which has been raised so far. >> miami is more than just supercool nightclubs and hot beaches. it's a money destination for art lovers. coming up we'll tell you about an art event unlike any other.

>> the art world is converging on' for a contemporary art exhibit expected to attract as many as 50,000 people. the show is helping put miami on the map as a global cultural capital. >> from the masters like pablo piccaso to emerging artists. art boggle in' prove oaks and awes. it's a prestigious shof, -- shows. it features more than 6,000 artists. organizers say the success cannot be easily duplicated. >> foort un magazine suggests that art boggle generates $500 million in economic impact. organizers say numbers like that d are eager for the economic stimulus and the social cache

that high-brow art shows deliver. >> for people all over the world to see what happens in'. the community has to step up. >> the community has exploded. >> it puts pressure on the community to measure to that standard of excellence. when i started there was six galleries. there's over 130 today. >> this week the art museum opened its doors with an infusion of sunlight, views of the bay and vertical gardens. it promises to be as big a draw as the artwork. the curator hopes it will become a social event. where people discuss art from the 1930s to the present.

>> often we are competing not with cultural institution, but the beach. the beach is the public face in miami. this museum and the design and location will change that. it has the participation to become an other type of social phase. >> the museum began building a collection in 1996. in less than 20 years it's collected 1300 works of art. you may say that's a metaphor or the arts community. it may be a newcomer. with a clear commitment the area is evolving into a destination known for sun worshippers and an emerging power in the art world. >> more than 250 of the world's leading galleries are participating in this year's exhibit. in the next issue of new former south african

president. this is an image of an oil painting. the artist depicted a young nelson mandela. he wanted to make a simple and bold statement. >> here in new york, a tribute to a fallen leader and his rainbow nation. the empire state building aglow with the colours of the south african flag - the blue, red, yellow and green. it will stay that way through sunday in honour of nelson mandela's life and legacy. >> you are seeing live pictures of the tribe ute to nelson mandela, where people are leaving carts, flowers, and saying prayers. please stay tuned for more on the life and legacy of nelson mandela. follow us on our website on aljazeera.com. i'm morgan radford and i look forward to sharing more about

the life of nelson mandela with you in an hour. stay tuned.